Himalai Celebrating its 20th year celebration, on this eve Himalai extending helping hands to the UPSC-IAS Aspirants of June 2018.

Most important exam oriented Current Affairs Concepts:

1. Civil Nuclear Cooperation deal between India and Japan

Civil Nuclear Cooperation deal between India and Japan that provides for collaboration between their industries in the field came into force. This agreement is a reflection of the strategic partnership between India and Japan and will pave the way for enhanced cooperation in energy security and clean energy.

The deal allows Japan to export nuclear technology to India, making India the first non-NPT signatory to have such a deal with Tokyo. The Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

There was political resistance in Japan — the only country to suffer atomic bombings during World War II — against a nuclear deal with India, particularly after the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in 2011.

Japan is a major player in the nuclear energy market and an atomic deal with it will make it easier for US-based nuclear plant makers Westinghouse Electric Corporation and GE Energy Inc to set up atomic plants in India as both these conglomerates have Japanese investments.

2. MK-IV

‘IN LCU L52’ (GRSE Yard 2093). IN LCU L52 is the second Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class to be inducted into the Indian Navy. The ship has been indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata. The commissioning of L-52 is yet another manifestation of the potential of the country’s indigenous design and ship building capability.

LCU MK-IV ship is an amphibious ship with the primary role to transport and deploy Main Battle Tanks, Armored Vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. These ships would be based in the Andaman and Nicobar Command and can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.

The ship, has a complement of 05 officers, 46 sailors and is capable of carrying 160 troops in addition. The ship, displacing 830 Tons, is capable of transporting various kinds of combat equipment such as Main Battle Tanks Arjun, T72 and other vehicles. The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems like Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).

3. Bharat Net Phase

Bharat Net network built under Phase 1 envisages delivery of high-speed broadband services in over 2.5 lakh villages benefitting more than 200 million rural Indians.

The Bharat Net As The world’s largest rural broadband project created on the mantra of Create, Collaborate and Conquer, the project will generate massive employment opportunities both direct and indirect in the country in days to come. the 2nd phase of the Bharat Net well before the target of March, 2019 to usher in a rural digital revolution by connecting 2 lakh and 50,000 Gram Panchayats with broadband network.. The project aims to provide affordable broadband services to citizens and institutions in rural and remote areas, in partnership with States and the private sector.

4. The U.S. Navy recently test fired the world’s first operational and deployed laser weapons

The U.S. Navy recently test fired the world’s first operational and deployed laser weapons from a warship in the Persian Gulf. The world’s first active laser weapons system was fired from the Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Ponce. The laser successfully destroyed an unnamed aerial vehicle (UAV) and moving surface targets.

The new weapon releases photons—elementary particles which transmit light—at the speed of light silently hitting their target and burning it to a temperature of thousands of degrees. Unlike depicted in movies such as Star Wars, the laser beam, essentially a narrow beam of focused light, is entirely invisible.

It operates in an invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum so you don’t see the beam, it doesn’t make any sound, it’s completely silent and it’s incredibly effective at what it does.

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term “laser” originated as an acronym for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”

5. Iran nuclear deal framework

The Iran nuclear deal framework was a preliminary framework agreement reached in 2015 between the Islamic Republic of Iran and a group of world powers: the P5+1 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China—plus Germany) and the European Union.

As per Iran nuclear deal framework, Iran will be required to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency access to all of its declared facilities so that the agency can be assured of the peaceful nature of the nuclear program. According to details of the deal published by the U.S. government, IAEA inspectors would have access to all of the nuclear facilities including enrichment facilities, the supply chain that supports the nuclear program and uranium mines as well as continuous surveillance at uranium mills, centrifuge rotors and bellows production and storage facilities. Iran will be required to grant access to the IAEA to investigate suspicious sites or allegations of a covert enrichment facility, conversion facility, centrifuge production facility, or yellowcake production facility anywhere in the country. Iran will implement an agreed set of measures to address the IAEA’s concerns regarding the Possible Military Dimensions (PMD) of its program.

According to the Iranian fact sheet, Iran will implement the Additional Protocol temporarily and voluntarily in line with its confidence-building measures and after that the protocol will be ratified in a time frame by the Iranian government and parliament (Majlis)

The P5+1 countries and Iran agreed on a framework for a deal. According to this framework, Iran would redesign, convert, and reduce its nuclear facilities and accept the Additional Protocol (with provisional application) in order to lift all nuclear-related economic sanctions, freeing up tens of billions of dollars in oil revenue and frozen assets.

6. Sohum

The newborn hearing screening device developed by School of International Biodesign (SIB) startup M/s Sohum Innovation Labs India Pvt. Ltd.

Sohum is a low cost and unique device which uses brainstem auditory evoked response, the gold standard in auditory testing to check for hearing response in a newborn. As of now, this technology is prohibitively expensive and inaccessible to many. Start-up Sohum has made the technology appropriate for the resource constrained settings and aims to cater to nearly 26 million babies born every year in India.

One of the most common birth disorders – congenital hearing loss – is a result of both genetic and non-genetic factors. These factors are mostly associated with resource-poor economies such as India where, unlike advanced healthcare systems, hearing impairment goes undiagnosed. Thus, when it is discovered at 4+ years, it’s too late to reverse the damage and this leads to a host of problems such as impaired communication skills and even possible mental illness; all of which have a deep impact on the child, emotionally and economically life-long.

Globally, 8,00,000 hearing impaired babies are born annually of which, nearly 1,00,000 are in India. And all this preventable damage needs is early screening, which can facilitate timely treatment and rehabilitation. Sohum team has come up with a screening device to facilitate the routine screening of newborn babies – with the potential to help children at a key stage of their development.

The portable Sohum Hearing Screening measures auditory brain waves via three electrodes placed on the baby’s head. When stimulated, they detect electrical responses generated by the brain’s auditory system. If there is no response, the child cannot hear. The battery-operated device is non-invasive, which means babies do not need to be sedated, which is the current, and risky, testing in process at present. Another key advantages over other testing systems is the patented, in-built algorithm that filters out ambient noise from the test signal. This is important because health clinics can be incredibly crowded and noisy. The device has been installed in five clinical centers who are currently running the hearing screening program. The aim is to screen two percent of hospital-born babies in the first year, before scaling up. The project has ambitious plans – to help every baby born in India be screened.

7. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India was set up on 1st October 2016 under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code). It is a unique regulator: regulates a profession as well as processes. It has regulatory oversight over the Insolvency Professionals, Insolvency Professional Agencies and Information Utilities. It writes and enforces rules for transactions, namely, corporate insolvency resolution, corporate liquidation, individual insolvency resolution and individual bankruptcy under the Code. It is a key pillar of the ecosystem responsible for implementation of the Code that consolidates and amends the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner for maximization of the value of assets of such persons, to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and balance the interests of all the stakeholders.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016

The objective of the new law is to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit, and balance the interests of all stakeholders by consolidating and amending the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner and for maximization of value of assets of such persons and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The law aims to consolidate the laws relating to insolvency of companies and limited liability entities (including limited liability partnerships and other entities with limited liability), unlimited liability partnerships and individuals, presently contained in a number of legislations, into a single legislation. Such consolidation will provide for a greater clarity in law and facilitate the application of consistent and coherent provisions to different stakeholders affected by business failure or inability to pay debt.

Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) for EU Investments in India will allow for a close coordination between the European Union and the Government of India with an aim to promote and facilitate EU investment in India.

This agreement builds on the Joint Statement of the 13th EU-India Summit held in Brussels in March 2016, where the EU had welcomed India’s readiness to establish such a mechanism and leaders from both sides had reaffirmed their shared commitment to oppose protectionism and to work in favour of a fair, transparent and rule-based trade and investment environment.

As part of the IFM, the EU Delegation to India and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, agreed to hold regular high level meetings to assess and facilitate “ease of doing business” for EU investors in India. This will include identifying and putting in place solutions to procedural impediments faced by EU companies and investors in establishing or running their operations in India.

Ease of doing business is a fundamental priority of our Government’s Make in India Campaign and the establishment of IFM for facilitating EU investments in India is another step to achieve this goal. The IFM has been established with the key objectives of paving the way for identifying and solving problems faced by EU companies and investors with regard to their operations in India. The IFM will cover new investors as well as those already established in India. The IFM is also going to serve as a platform for discussing general suggestions from the point of view of EU companies and investors with regard to ease of doing business in India.

Invest India, the official Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of the Government of India, will also be part of the Mechanism. It will create a single-window entry point for EU companies that need assistance for their investments at the central or state level. The DIPP will also facilitate participation of other relevant ministries and authorities on a case-to-case basis.

9. First DEMU Train with Solar powered Coaches

The first 1600 HP DEMU train with Solar Powered Coaches with a unique facility of Battery Bank here today. The entire electrical need of the coaches for Lighting, Fans and Information Display System will be met from the Solar Energy produced from the solar panels fitted in the roofs of coaches. While this train has been manufactured by the Coach Factory of Indian Railways namely Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, its Solar panels and Solar systems have been developed and fitted by Indian Railways Organisation of Alternative Fuel (IROAF) Delhi. This first rake has been commissioned and based at Shakurbasti DEMU shed in Delhi of Northern Railway. Twenty-four more coaches will be fitted with this system within the next 6 months. The first rake will be put in the commercial service over the suburban railway system of Delhi division of Northern Railway.

Indian Railways is committed for environment conservation & use of cleaner fuels. Indian Railways is trying to increase use of non-conventional sources of energy. More solar powered trains may be inducted in future. Indian Railways has already made a target of 1000 MW Solar Plants in next five-years. Indian Railways is also taking several others environment friendly measures like Tea Plantation, Bio-toilet, Water-Recycling, Waste Disposal, using Bio-fuel CNG and LNG, Wind Energy etc.

Normally, DEMU trains provide power for its passenger comfort systems – lights and fans – from a diesel driven generator fitted on its Driving Power Car (DPC). IROAF has developed this system with a smart MPPT inverter which optimises power generation on a moving train to cater to full load even during the night. The unique feature of Battery Bank through storage battery ensures sufficient electricity when the sunlight is not available. The system helps in reducing Diesel consumption of the DPC and hence reduces carbon signature of these commuter trains by reducing CO2 generation by 9 Tonnes per coach per year.

A solar power DEMU train with six trailer coaches will save about 21,000 Litres of Diesel and thereby bring cost saving of Rs.12 Lac every year. Savings for a 10 coach rake with 8 trailer coaches will increase proportionately. These benefits will continue for entire 25 years life time of the rake. This will help in making DEMU commuter services better, more economical and environment friendly.

Solar hotel load (Lighting and Fan) system fitted on each coach is of 4.5 KWp capacity consisting of 16 Solar Panels of 300Wp each. This is adequate to power the fans and lights of the coach. The system is capable of developing up to 20 kWh per day (average) throughout the year. Surplus power generated during peak hours is stored in a 120 AH battery system. The system uses a data acquisition system and interfaces with existing hotel load power system of DEMU train. It will help in generating useful data for research for adapting the system for future rollout on all trains of IR. The system costs about Rs. 9 lakhs per coach at prototype stage.

Northern Railway launched the first DEMU service on Indian Railways in 1994. Today, NR has 3 DEMU sheds having highest DEMU holding on Indian Railways. Shakurbasti DEMU shed of Northern Railway has been a pioneer in the field of green powered DEMUs – CNG & Solar powered. The very first CNG fitted DEMUs were run by Shakurbasti. Now the first Solar panel powered DEMU train will also be maintained and operated by DEMU shed, Shakurbasti of Northern Railway. This pioneering effort makes a transition towards clean energy and reduction in the carbon emission.

10. EBLM J0555-57

EBLM J0555-57 is a triple star system approximately 600 light-years from Earth. EBLM J0555-57Ab, the smallest star in the system, orbits its primary star with a period of 7.8 days, and at the time of discovery, is the smallest known star with a mass sufficient to enable the fusion of hydrogen in its core.

EBLM J0555-57, also known as CD−57 1311, is a triple star system in the constellation Picture, which contains a visual binary system consisting of two sun-like stars separated by 2.5″: EBLM J0555-57Aa, a magnitude 9.98 spectral type F8 star, and EBLM J0555-57B, a magnitude 10.76 star. No orbital motion has been detected but they have almost identical radial velocities and are assumed to be gravitationally bound.

Component A of the system is itself an eclipsing binary (EBLM J0555-57Ab orbiting EBLM J0555-57Aa). Eclipses, also known as transits in the context of planetary searches, have been detected in the near infrared, with brightness drops of 0.05% during the eclipse. The shape and duration of the transits allow the radii of the two stars to be determined. A full solution of the orbit gives a period of 7 days and 18 hours, with a low eccentricity of 0.09, an almost edge-on inclination of 89.84, and a semi-major axis of 0.08 AU.

EBLM J0555-57Ab has a mass of about 85 ± 4 Jupiter masses, or 0.081 Solar masses. The star has a radius comparable to that of Saturn. EBLM J0555-57Ab is situated at the lower mass limit for hydrogen-burning stars predicted by current stellar models. EBLM J0555-57Ab was discovered by a group of scientists at the University of Cambridge associated with the EBLM project (Eclipsing Binary, Low Mass),] using data collected by the WASP project. WASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) is searching for exo planets using the transit method. Additional properties of the star were determined using Doppler spectroscopy, to measure the periodic radial velocity variation of tahe primary star due to the gravitational influence of its companion.